Heartbeat
by avevale
Summary: Drabblefic. When Arizona suffers from a harmless but painful disease, Callie is there to take care of her. Calzone.
1. Chapter 1

Heartbeat

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I really felt the need to write something where Callie was a rock for Arizona and I threw in a little bit of what's going on with me lately :-) It's going to be more of four short drabbles than an actual fic, but I hope you enjoy!  
To be honest I was too excited to post this to beta it, so all mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: _I do not own the characters or anything related to Grey's Anatomy. That's courtesy of Shonda Rimes and ABC. This fiction is not meant to make money or to be harmful in any way. It's just pure for amusement._

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Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Such beautiful colors. The yellow reminds me of her hair, her golden hair. As I inhale, I can smell the scent of her conditioner. It's fruity, soft, like mango or something peachy. Which brings me back to the colors… They're right in front of me, they make me feel happy, safe. My lips slowly curl into a smile.

I startle awake. Four paws creep over the bed sheet onto my legs. "Cougar," I whisper angrily. This is the second time this night Arizona's cat has awakened me. Softly I push him off my body. He starts purring, rubbing his head against my hip. I try to pat him, an attempt to shut him up, but my arm feels numb. I open my eyes to see the back of Arizona's head only inches away from my face. My other hand is draped around her waist. Too bad, Cougar, I think to myself, my arms are kind of preoccupied at the moment. I let out a deep sigh and close my eyes.

Holy crap. Did I just dream about rainbows?

Seriously?

I guess Arizona is rubbing off on me, even on my subconscious. A soft moan escapes the petite body besides me. Is she having…?

No, she wouldn't. Would she?

She slowly starts to turn. No time like the present to find out, I guess. Instead of a satisfied smile or a serene face, I face pursed lips and frowning eyebrows. No happy time dream, apparently. She seems to breath more heavily, so I stroke her abdomen softly with my thumb in an attempt to calm her down.

Five minutes later her face is still tensed up, but her breathing has slowed down again. In the meantime Cougar settled himself against my upper leg and seemed to be snoring slightly. It doesn't take long until I fall asleep again myself.

The third time I wake up that night the cat is not to blame. He's still lying crawled up by my left leg, his warm fur against my bare skin. I wonder what time it is and I look at the alarm clock. Four thirty AM. A sound coming from my bathroom reminds me why I woke up in the first place: the tap running for a few seconds, causing the pipes above my room making noise. My arms reach out beside me to feel nothing but air. I sigh and turn on my back.

At first I didn't wonder why she was out of bed so early. Maybe she needed to go to the bathroom. Maybe she was being paged and was getting herself ready to leave to the hospital. But then it struck me that I would've heard her pager and that she wasn't on call. Ten minutes later she still wasn't back in bed so I decided to get out of bed as well. I softly shove Cougar aside and roll out of the bed.

I walk over to the bathroom and notice that the light is turned off. That's weird. I slowly rub my eyes and knock on the door.

"Ari? Are you in there?" I hear Cougar jumping off the bed behind me, his nails tapping against the hard-wood floors.

"I'm here," I hear her reply with a small voice from behind the door. I feel my stomach turning into a knot and I ask if she's okay. When I don't hear her reply, I open the door and raise my hand to turn on the light.

"Please, keep the lights turned off." I narrow my eyes to perceive her in the dark room. She is sitting on the floor, her legs pulled up to her chest and her hands cradling her head.

"Ari, what's wrong?" I kneel down beside her. I hear her sigh audibly. My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness and I can see her biting her bottom lip.

"Can't... think..." I hear her stumble quietly. She still isn't looking at me. Worry is taking over me and I look around us. On the floor next to her is standing a glass of water and a strip of medicine. There are only two tablets left. I pick it up to look at the back of the strip.

"Sumatriptan?" I see her flinch at the volume of my voice and I start to whisper. "A migraine? Is that what you're having?" She nods slowly. I sit down next to her and take her into my arms.

"Shh, come here," I softly whisper. Her muscles start to relax and I pick her up and place her in my lap. "You're going to be okay." She puts her arms around my neck and lies her head on my shoulder.

"I'm.. sorry.. if I.. scared you," she whispers in my ear, followed by a soft grunt. I know the pain in migraines comes in phases, so I hold her tight. I feel her tense up again and stroke her thigh.

"It's okay, it's okay. You don't need to explain anything. Don't speak. We'll just wait until it passes, okay? I got you."

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**I know it's short. There are three more parts to come!**

**Critique is welcome!  
V  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Heartbeat

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews on the last part. Here is part two, I wrote it on the train yesterday and again too excited, so it isn't beta'd. I forgive myself because it's only a drabble.

Disclaimer: _I do not own the characters or anything related to Grey's Anatomy. That's courtesy of Shonda Rimes and ABC. This fiction is not meant to make money or to be harmful in any way. It's just pure for amusement.  
_

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"Callie," I hear a voice hissing. "Torres!" Hmm. I pull my legs up to my chest. Warm bed. "Wake up!" I let out a soft grunt and turn over to face my awakener. The lamp above my head blinds me and I see my roommates' silhouette standing beside me.

"Cristina? What's up?" I say, wiping a little drool of the side of my face. Ew.

"Did you and your girlfriend have a fight or something, 'cause she's on the couch not looking too hot." I blink several times against the bright light.

"What..." Immediately, I don't feel so sleepy anymore. "Thanks Cristina," I say as I pull the covers off me.

"Whatever," the resident shrugs as she leaves towards her own room. I quickly get out of bed and walk towards the living room. She is lying the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table and a towel draped across her face. I walk over and sit down next to her.

"Ari?" Her fingers tremble as I whisper her name. "Are you having a migraine again?" I see her nod beneath the towel. "You can wake me when you're in pain, you know." She nods again. "Did you take your meds already?"

Another nod. "Half an hour ago."

I raise my eyebrows in shock. "You've been in pain for so long? You could've just woke me." I stay silent for a minute or so. "I'm going to take you to bed, okay? You'll be more comfortable there." She nods nightly again and places her hand over the towel. I place one arm underneath her shoulders and one under her legs and pick her up. I try to walk as less bouncy as possible to my bedroom and place her on the mattress.

"Hold on," I whisper as I walk over to the light switch to turn off the light. "There." Next, I unplug the alarm clock and close the door. I make my way over to the bed and crawl beside her into bed and take her into my arms. "You can put away the towel now, it's darker than the night in here," I say softly and give her a small peck on her shoulder.

She mumbles a thanks and I feel her relax into my arms. Twenty minutes later when I think she's asleep again, she whispers my name.

"Yes babe?" I stroke her arm lightly.

"Sorry to have woken you up."

I shake my head smiling. "You didn't actually, Cristina did."

"Cristina?" she sounds confused.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear her? She came home after her shift and saw you on the couch. She said 'you didn't look too hot'."

"Oh." She stays quiet for a minute. "Sorry," I hear her let out a little sigh.

"Seriously, don't be. I want to be here for you and comfort you and help you get through this. You have to trust me with these kind of things and let me help you, even when I'm asleep. Especially when I'm asleep." I feel her arm slide around my waist.

"Okay," I hear her give in.

"Is the pain gone?"

"I'm still a little sore, but I'm not in pain anymore."

"Good," I reply quietly. "How often do you get these?"

"They're all a little different. Tonight was a pretty mild one. Last month, in the bathroom, you caught me in a bad one." She pauses for a few seconds. "I used to have them already when I was a teen. Whenever my Dad was away, I would get them almost every week. We didn't tell him because we didn't want to worry him. Then I went to med school and it stopped for a while. During my intern year it started again. I have learned that whenever I'm under a big amount of stress I'm more likely to have them."

"So what happened today?" I ask stroking her hair.

"I lost a patient. He was eight years old and so full of life," I hear her voice quiver. "He wanted to become the new Elvis Presley," she laughed.

"Did he play guitar?"

"No," I feel her smile on my shoulder. "But he had the ambition. I promised I would teach him a few chords after his treatment.

"You play guitar?" I say surprised.

"I do, my Mom taught me when I was seven."

"Acoustic or electric?"

"Both," I feel her fingers grazing my thigh. It does make sense, the tops of her fingers have always felt a little rough.

"Really? You? Bad-ass electric guitar? Riffs and all?"

"Don't sound so surprised. I have to admit, the acoustic is my favorite but I've had my rebellious years as a teenager."

I giggle softly. "I'd love to see pictures of that."

"You might get lucky one day."

"I'm already the luckiest girl in the world right now. I've got you."

"Ahw. I would kiss you, but A. my head is still a little too sore to lift and B. I have no clue where your head is right now, it's so dark in here," she laughs softly.

I cup her face with my hand and give her a little kiss on her nose. "There," I say smiling. "Good night Arizona."

"Good night Calliope."

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**  
Critique is welcome!  
V**


	3. Chapter 3

Heartbeat

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews on the last part. Here's the third part, only one more part to go! :( Me is sad. This one's a little longer than the previous ones, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: _I do not own the characters or anything related to Grey's Anatomy. That's courtesy of Shonda Rimes and ABC. This fiction is not meant to make money or to be harmful in any way. It's just pure for amusement._

_

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When I see several flashes recurring in my sight, I blink a few times. Wondering if the lights are defect, I look at the faces around me. The little patient before me looks at his father, his eyebrows furrowed because of the pain but he doesn't seem confused. Neither does his father or Owen, who are both standing next to him. Hmm. Maybe I'm just tired.

Or maybe it's my brain telling me I'm going to have a migraine again. The thought crosses my mind for a minute, but I quickly focus my attention back on the patient before me.

"So, Jason, does it hurt anywhere else besides your tummy?" I touch the five-year-old's hand briefly. The kid shakes his head softly and I see tears welling up in his eyes.

"It's going to be okay, buddy," Owen reassures him. I bend over Jason's body to examine his wound. A lot of dirt and leaves cover his body, including a few small branches sticking to his sweater.

"I want to make a few scans, just to be sure. Falling out of a tree can do some damage, which you might not feel or see directly," I say looking at Jason's father. He nods and strokes his son's hair. I turn around to grab some disinfectant and start cleaning the wound.

Then the flashes return. I frown in confusion and frustration. This cannot be happening again.

"Is something wrong, Dr. Robbins?" the boy's father asks me worriedly.

I shake my head and put the disinfectant down. "No, it's looking just fine." I reach for the tweezers but I can't grasp them. I'm grabbing at least one inch next to the desired object.

"Dr. Robbins, are you okay?" Owen asks me with raised eyebrows.

I sigh and look him in the eye. "I'm... fine. Can you take over, Dr. Hunt?" He nods sympathetically. "Page me when the scans are done." I look over to the father and give him a little nod. "Excuse me," I mumble as I leave the room. I consider kicking out the wheels in my shoes but decide it's not the safest option right now. I hurry to the attending's locker room and grab my bag. Then I head over to an empty on-call room. I sit down at the edge of the bunk bed and go through my bag briefly.

"Where are they?" I groan in frustration. Damnit. I know I should've taken my meds sooner, when the flashes first started. But I tried to ignore them, telling myself I'm not under a huge deal of stress at the moment. Because in that case, it would be exceptional to get a migraine. I still don't feel the strip of meds near my hands and decide to turn my bag upside down.

Wow. I carry a lot of crap with me. Rummaging through various keys, pens, tissues, numerous pieces of paper and lipsticks, and even two pieces of underwear, I finally find the strip of meds.

"Damnit," I mutter to myself as I see the strip is empty. Suddenly I remember it again, I took the last few at Callie's last time. And I _did_ write it down to remind myself of getting new ones. A sarcastic giggle escapes from my lips as I stare to the pile of paper before me. Way to go, Arizona.

Ouch. Here it comes. A throbbing pain in my right temple causes me to bend over. I prop myself up from the bed and walk over to the light switch. Normally, I'm all about sunshine and rainbows, but when my head is aching, I prefer the darkness over beaming light. After I turn the light off I lie down on the bed and put my head softly on the pillow.

Please let it pass in a few minutes, I think over and over again. Please.

* * *

"Torres," Callie hears her name being called out and turns around.

"Owen, what's up?" she throws her colleague a genuine smile. "You need me to break any bones? Or fix 'em?"

"No," her friend replies. "Have you seen Arizona anywhere?"

The latina shakes her head, furrowing her eyebrows. "Not since this morning at our apartment. Why?"

"She left quite abruptly during a consult. She didn't seem to be very focused and asked me to page her when the scans are done, which I did. Thirty minutes ago, and she's still not here. The nurses haven't seen her at the peds ward either."

"Damnit," Callie muttered. "Is the kid okay?"

"The boy is fine. Is she?"

"She'll be fine. Thanks for telling me, Owen," she patted him on the back and scurried away.

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I hear the door opening and being closed after a few seconds. My eyes are kept closed because of any possible light shining in.

"Callie?" I grunt softly her name, sounding a little muffled because of my arms, which are draped across my face. I can hear her holding her breath; she isn't used to me shortening her name. It's something I rarely do; only when I'm angry, upset or in pain.

"How did you know it was me?" she whispers and walks over to my bed. I can feel her sitting down and putting her hand on my leg, stroking it comfortingly.

After sucking in some air I begin to talk. Sometimes I pause between my words, trying to process the pain I'm feeling. "I hear everything. The patients and doctors walking down the hall... The cardio patients right down the hall. I hear their monitors... beeping. A few minutes ago one flatlined. Every few minutes doctors and nurses enter the supply closet next door; rapidly searching for IV bags, gauze, suture kits or even diapers... I can hear _everything_ right now. You have a very distinctive way of walking," my lips curl into a small smile. "So when you walked down the hall, I could hear you quickly coming my way, checking every other on-call room there is before opening this one."

She props herself up on the bed and places her body next to mine, holding me close. "I have a distinctive walk?" she whispers quietly into my ear.

"You do," I reply. Another wave of pain befalls me. The muscles in my body tighten up, mainly the ones in my face. Calliope holds me even closer, rocking me slowly, telling me to breathe. I slowly inhale some air through my nose and exhale through my mouth.

"That's it," she says, carefully kissing my neck.

"Most people drag their feet or shuffle them at least," I continue my story as the pain subsides. "You, however, don't. I like to think it's because of your speciality..."

I can feel her nod. "It might..." Her fingers graze the skin on my arms. "You're still very tense. Try to relax."

"I can't," I whimper.

"It's a bad one?" she strokes my hair.

I nod lightly. "I feel like... I'm either going to throw up... or faint... but I cannot feel like this... any... longer."

"You're nauseous because of the pain? Ari, that is serious business. How long ago did you take the drugs?"

I pull my legs up towards my chest, lying in a fetal position. "I didn't. I don't have any left and forgot to get new ones."

She gets up instantly, almost tripping over my bag on the floor, causing me to open my eyes. "You could've paged me, Ari. You have been lying here for over an hour in pain, without any drugs, and I could have helped you," she sounds disappointed. I can't this. It's too much. Too much pain, too much feelings.

A tear falls down my cheek onto the bed. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I couldn't... I couldn't... think or move, without my head... exploding."

"Shh," my girlfriend bends over and her lips graze mine. "It's okay, I'm not mad. I'm going to get you medicine right now. Sumatriptan, right?" she tiptoes over to the door. "What is this mess on the floor...?" I hear her grumble. "Panties?" I can't see anything, but I imagine her shaking her head. "Uhm, sorry, anyway. Remember to breathe, okay? Try to relax. I'll be back in a minute. You're going to be okay," she reassures me.

I take a deep breath. Everything _is _going to be okay. As long as she's here with me, it's going to be okay.

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**Thanks for reading!**

**Critique is welcome!**

**V  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Heartbeat

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews on the previous part. This is the fourth and last part, I hope you like it. My apologies for any grammar/spelling/other errors, it's not beta'd.

Disclaimer: _I do not own the characters or anything related to Grey's Anatomy. That's courtesy of Shonda Rimes and ABC. This fiction is not meant to make money or to be harmful in any way. It's just pure for amusement._

_

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My surroundings slowly drift away from me. I don't understand what is happening, but it doesn't feel unnatural to me.

A few seconds later the previous images have completely disappeared out of my mind and I'm beginning to become aware of my senses.

Warmth. Softness. Darkness. Peacefulness.

Buzzing. There is buzzing.

My brain begins to process the signals a little more quickly and I open my eyes. Clearly I'm in my bed and it's still dark outside. Instinctively I reach beside me but feel nothing but cold sheets and air.

Right. Her 24-hour-shift ended a couple of hours before mine and she decided to go home to get some sleep.

The buzzing noise attracts my attention again. I turn around to my night stand and feel for the buzzing objects. To my surprise it's not my pager vibrating soundly, but my phone.

CALLER ID: ARIZONA

2:37AM

Immediately I push the green button and put the phone against my ear.

"Ari?" I ask with a croaked voice. What has happened? Why is she calling me this late, or rather early in the morning?

"Callie?" I hear her whisper softly. Now I'm even more worried. She never shortens my name.

"What's wrong?"

Suddenly I'm fully awake. I focus all my attention to the other end of the line and forget about all the other senses but hearing. I don't feel the sheets wrapped around me anymore and gaze at the wall before me. I even forget to breathe for a moment.

"I... need... you..." By the way she talks I can tell she's having a migraine again. A bad one, otherwise she wouldn't have called me. I know it's in her nature not to bother other people easily, even though I tell her to inform me. Always.

Opening my sheets and jumping out of bed I softly answer her over the phone.

"I'm on my way, okay? Just hold on. I'll be with you in ten minutes, okay?"

I quickly put on some shoes, not bothering to change out of my sweat pants. As I rush out of my bedroom I hear her mumble her agreement and then she hangs up the phone. _Beep. Beep. Beep._ Putting the phone into my pocket I grab my coat and walk out of my apartment.

A few minutes later I'm on the road in my light blue vintage car. I've always liked fast cars but I fell in love with this one the moment I first laid eyes on it. I thought it was endearing it didn't go very fast. Hmpf. Right now, I'd do anything for a roaring engine and screeching wheels. The faster I get there, the better. My foot pushes the gas pedal a little more down, but deep down I know I should be careful. Arizona isn't dying or anything, I try to tell myself. Uncontrolled driving leads to car accidents. Lots of car accidents. The knot in my stomach tightens even more thinking about the pain my girlfriend must be in. I hate feeling so helpless.

While I keep feeling more and more anxious, I finally pull up in front of her apartment building. Any other time I would be a little embarrassed about my appearance at the moment. Though it's in the middle of the night and no one is on the streets, there is always a janitor supervising the building, twenty-four/seven. But right now, I couldn't care less. As I walk in the main entrance, I see one of the most attentive janitors at the desk.

"Doctor Torres!" he greets me with beaming eyes. "Late night shift?"

"Not exactly," I say shaking my head. I look down at my outfit and flash him a little grin.

"You need Dr. Robbins' key?" he asks me and rises out of is chair.

I shake my head again and lift my hand, which is holding my bundle of keys tightly. "No, I have it on me. Good night, John."

"Good night, Doc," he waves as he sits down again to look at of the monitors in front of him.

On my way over to her apartment I unzip my jacket, considering every little sound might hurt her. As I enter her apartment, I see that there aren't any lights on and I decide to keep it that way. I take my jacket off and hang it over the chair. Then I make my way over to her bedroom, where I see her lying on her bed. Out of the bathroom comes a splashing sound of water, like a tap is running slowly.

"Callie?" I sit down at the edge of her bed as I hear the muffled sound of my name.

"I'm here," I whisper back. "It's going to be all right... Come here." I fold one of my legs underneath me and take her into my arms. Slowly she shifts herself so that she is situated comfortably in my lap.

"Thank you... for being here," she says quietly while she grabs my hand.

With my other hand I softly stroke her hair. "For you, always," I say before I carefully press my lips against her forehead. "Have the meds sunk in yet?"

I feel her shaking her head lightly but she ends it after a few seconds. "No," she sighs.

"Are you nauseous?" I ask remembering on of her previous migraines.

"No," she answers and holds my hand a little more tightly. I stay quiet for a couple of minutes, stroking her hair and hearing her breathe. Whenever her pain gets worse, I hear her holding her breath and her body tenses up.

"Try to breathe," I encourage her gently. "Try to breathe with me," I add when I see her eyebrows furrowed in pain. A few seconds later were inhaling and exhaling simultaneously and I feel her muscles relaxing again.

Suddenly the sound of splashing water comes to my attention again. "Why is your tap running?"

"I tried to... make myself a bath... to relax," I hear her whisper.

"Ari... How long ago was that?"

"Before I called you... I forgot to turn it off. Oh god... I'm not sure if I can walk," she gasps.

"It's okay," I ensure her as I move her from my lap onto the mattress. "I'll check," I get off the bed and walk over to the bathroom where I feel for the light switch. After a few seconds I've found it and see that fortunately, the tub is only half full. The water is flowing down at a lingering pace. I walk over to the tap and turn it off.

As I return to the bedroom I see her lying in a fetal position again, moaning softly. I can't help but feel a little helpless as I walk over to her.

"What about that bath?" I whisper as I touch her arm soothingly. "Here, I'll help you," I put both my arms around her torso and slowly pull her up. She puts her own arms around my neck and I support her as we walk towards the bathroom. As we enter, she narrows her eyes a little against the bright light and grunts softly.

I look at her worriedly and search for the light switch again. "I'm sorry, I'll turn it off." With one arm still around her torso, the hand on my other arm finds the light switch and turns it off.

"Don't apologize," she sighs a little relieved.

"Can you stand?"

"I'll try," she nods and lets go of me. I feel her legs shaking against mine and I quickly put my hands around the small of her back.

"Okay, that's okay, just hold on tight," I say gently. "I'm here for you." I feel her hands on my shoulders again as my fingers take the fabric of her top and pull it slowly up. "I'll help you," I whisper again. With one hand, I pull the top over her head and with the other I hold her tight. The moonlight shines through the window softly into the room so I can perceive her more easily. It's quite useful tonight's a full moon.

I carefully unravel the cord of her pants and I look into her eyes worriedly. She gazes at the wall behind me, her eyes seemingly more grey than blue, her face indifferent. It's like she turned off her emotions to avoid any pain. I can feel my heart melt a little. Before I help her into the bath tub I briefly test the temperature of the water.

As she slides into the water I kneel down besides the tub and take her hair to put it over the edge so it won't get wet. I press a kiss against her temple and she closes her eyes.

"You're going to be just fine. I've got your back. You can count on me," I say to her and when I see her lips curl into a small smile, my heart melts a little more.

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**Critique is welcome!  
**

**V  
**


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